Also, I did not make this by myself. I was part of a team and we all contributed to this game.I'm posting this here because this is Derpy Buddy 3, even though it goes by 'Drifter.'

Be sure to read the three text files included with the game, as they provide important information both technical and in-game related (don't worry, they are very brief, almost minimalist).Some graphics options, like fullscreen, can be changed by opening Config.lua in notepad or other text editor.

This will be updated whenever we fix any bugs or resolve any other issues, so keep up to date with us if you can!

The game doesn't run ok, the foreground is displayed behind the background and derpy can barely be seen. I tried what they said in the read me, both unprotected and protected, witho result.

First time I tried, months ago, it really amazed me, but then this bug happened after Derpy starved to death. I really want to play this again, is great, and somehow reminds me to Journey for some odd reason.

Yeah, I tryed all kind of links,I try for hours to solve this "missing d3d10.dll file" even with few 'unofficial' programs but my computer is running in WinXP and DirectX_9c is the latest version fo this OS.

it seems the game is designed for higher versions? unfortunatly I can't try this game who looks very interesting TT_TT

This is a great game. I felt that is was more of "experiencing" the game rather than playing it. With it's great use of appropriate sounds, ambient music and retro-style graphics this makes me label "Drifter (0.8)" as a highly acclaimed art game. I've played this once; got curious if there is anything more, played it a second time just to see if there is any more things to find; and a third time when I've reasonably mastered the control scheme and map.

Here is a general spoiler-free review of the game:

1) Gameplay(This assumes that the player jumps right in the game without reading any of the README)Starting off with little instruction on what to do and where to go, it's up to the player to figure out what's going on. Challenge accepted; we are first introduced to an 8-bit Fluttershy, a breaking dawn, some lights and a sleeping Derpy. What follows is a very simple tutorial. Naturally, the correct direction to go would be to Fluttershy, and that would be to the right, and after that the game truly begins...

After some exploring the player realized that there is a dark, scary underground cave that is filled with danger as the player decends. (The surface is rather safe, and quite beautifully done) Since the idea is to explore the world, the player will realize that he/she can find useful objects to collect or a characters to interact with. There is also the ominous presence of 3 coloured bar at the bottom left of the screen. It will eventually dawn upon the player that these are stats that show Derpy's current state of wellness; and needs to be filled for her survival.

Surviving the night with needs to fulfill such as energy (red), hunger (green) and happiness (blue) is a classic. Some nostalgia triggered here as these features reminded me of fond memories of another old game called Wolf (1994, Sanctuary Woods) With this basic knowledge equipped, the player tries to defeat the game... understand the story... get frustrated or rewarded depending on the player's level of patience for an art game.

2) GraphicsExploration in a single "megalevel" akin to Metroid, borrowing sprites from Cave Story is another classic. The key point to this simple graphics is the effective use of lighting: very well done, in a 2D world with complex shadows and shading to create a realistic experience. This is art; kudos on successfully pulling it off. The use of Desktop Ponies and their animations is very fitting; it makes sense when Derpy eats, sleeps and the others do what they do.

3) StoryIt revolves around exploration and reviewing it would be spoilery, so I'll include it in a separate spoiler section.

4) SoundThe music simply exudes ambiance. Here is a list of what the combined elements of music, gameplay, story and environment managed to trigger (in alphabetical order, spoiler-free)

5) ReplayabilityUnless there are achievements and / or Easter Eggs to find, there isn't much incentive to replay this game. Which is perfectly fine; as it is already backed up by a powerful story.

Overall / TL;DRAn excellent game for it's genre that manages to invoke some real emotions which doesn't happen too often. Can't wait to see the full release, if any!(I won't deny that my opinion might have bias based on the fact that I come from a background of playing/enjoying retro style games like Cave Story and Wolf, triggering that Element of Nostalgia)

1) On getting the most out of the game:Reading the README (as per the description mentioned)Fullscreen (config.lua --> fullscreen = "true") Headphones / Speakers + a quite environment Medium to high volume Night time Understanding that the central white dot is important to make the control scheme easier

2) Control scheme:It took me a little while, but I got a full grasp on how the control scheme works. See that central white dot in the middle of the screen, slightly faded? That is what you have direct control of in the game. As you navigate the world, it is this dot that you move; and Derpy follows the screen. So if you want to move quick you'll have to avoid hitting obstacles as that dot. With this is mind, very soon you'll be blazing through the world map like a hot knife through butter.

3) Map:Part of the challenge of the game is the map. There is no easy way out from this barring a walkthough. Through trial and error and a reasonable amount of patience, you'll slowly get a feel for your surroundings. The angle statues serves as large landmarks. The small details of the map such as the lighting and little background objects are also landmarks. It does take some time and effort to memorize them, but if you don't have the patience for it then this probably isn't the game for you.

There is a map included in the game folder called "WORLD MAP" which gives a rough idea on what part of the game world looks like. It's semi-useful, and reminiscent of the stuff you get from game manuals of the old games. Very cleverly executed. It is these little things which, upon realization, makes for a good game good.

Shoutout to Night Breeze for great designing.

--SPOILERS START ---

Spoilery tips:

1) SurvivingMove fast. Get fireflies; they protect you from from the evil hunters who will eat (!) our wall-eyed hero. They only last a while, so make the most of it. When you find another group of fireflies while still having some follow you, they won't follow you till your current ones fades away... so consider sleeping and collect the new batch so you can explore more. Sleep in a safe place and get a campfire up if you can. Not getting enough sleep will cause a short pause and the screen blurs. Satisfy your hunger, eat as you please; if you're exploring enough you'll be collecting apples and muffins enough for the game. You don't want Derpy to suddenly stop to snack when she's being chased by a hunter! Happiness isn't much of an issue if you're moving fast enough and finding items.

2) The enemies: HuntersThe concept here is an unseen enemy. There are found in the dark, and are essentially red balls of light. They'll flash and make scary noises, and make the screen go dark. Once darkness claims you, you're dead and dinner. You best chance at avoiding them is to outrun them to a safe place. The other way to counter them is by using TwiLights, which is quite limited as they are only usable once per day. Dying means that you'll have to restart from when you find a pony; but you get to keep all the perks. The cue to listen out for when Hunters spawn is the music change (you can sort of cheat if you have that console window up spewing all kinds of text to know when exactly you're being chased)

3) Finding itemsScattered across the word are some useful items you can collect. Here is a list of them and what I think they do:i) Apples - food. You'll also find food in bushesii) Giant Muffins - food, possibly appears after you get Applejack's perk?iii) Sticks / twigs / branches - component for a campfireiv) Stones / flints / rocks - component for a campfirev) Red crystals, blue crystals, green crystals, white crystals - No idea. I suspect that one of these are components for a TwiLight and some affect your stats (energy, hunger, happiness) but I see no profound difference when collecting them

4) Finding the Mane Six

i) Fluttershy - Unless you've been snoozing through the opening cutscene, you already know that she is just to your right. She grants a very important perk in the game which I will describe in detail later.

ii) Rainbow Dash - She to your left of the starting point, hanging out on some clouds. Just keep going left until you hit some clouds, then go upwards to find her napping there. After you find her she'll be a little annoyed that you woke her from her nap, then she'll perform a stunning Sonic Rainboom in the background. She gives you a perk which halves your fatigue rate (essentially reduces the decay of your energy bar, making the need for sleep less)

iii) Applejack - Keep going to the left while remaining on the surface. You'll hit some clouds; follow it upwards and to the right and it'll lead you to a ridge. She is found snoozing under a tree, and after some rope antics will buck away leaving you with a perk that (?) doubles the effect of food or (?) doubles the food resource when picked up.

iv) Pinkie Pie - Found underground and in the general left-down direction. The landmark to look beside an angel statue are graves / tombstones. Once you see these graves you're close by, climb up till you reach the surface and walk left past some clouds to find her. She will give you a perk which increase your resistance to sadness (slower decay of the blue bar? I'm not too sure as the happiness bar doesn't decay significantly to affect anything in my playthroughs)

v) Twilight Sparkle - Underground and in the general right direction. There is a safer way to get to her: once you reach a "pit" which is essentially the centerpoint of the map, when the path branches to go down and right take the right. They both lead to the same place. Once you reach a scary looking temple / shrine, you'll see Twi reading some books. She greets you by bursting in flames, giving you the ability to summon TwiLights once per day. This is your only active weapon against hunters. Right click and use it in emergencies; try to make use of fireflies as much as possible.

vi) Filly Rarity - Underground and in the general down and left direction. The landmark to look out for are glowy crystals / gems. She is found quite deep within the cave and doesn't grant you an immediate perk. However, she is essential in opening the path to reach the final character. "Perhaps you'll see her again..."

All Mane Six must be found before you can find the last character and finish the game.

5) Completing the gameYou'll need to go in the general downward direction until you hit a point where there is a pillar of rock blocking your path. The landmark here is a yellow glowy crystal shining light in the rightward direction. Getting here is dangerous so you should prepare a TwiLight ready just in case. Filly Rarity will break down the pillar for you and you can continue walking to the right. Pick up a giant muffin, and continue walking until you find...

vii) Dinky HoovesWhich gives you the Element of Motherhood and just like that, you've completed Drifter. Congratulations! So, now let's proceed with...

Spoilery Story Interpretation:

This is an art game. As with most art games, different people interpret it differently. This is how I interpret the story.

Drifter tells the story of how Derpy drifts through the unknown, dangerous landscape while finding friends along the way to help her find her daughter Dinky. Except... you don't know this till you reach the end. That is a perfect twist. Why she is on this quest isn't important; the focus is more on the journey rather than the destination. The simple text provides minimal explanation on what you must do; the central goal is to just explore until you find a purpose / objective / meaning to what you're doing. I think this is relatable to young people who have yet to find what they are going to do with their life. At the end of the game, you're rewarded with a surprise that is not shipping, but a touching story about a mother reunited with her daugther. Even if they are ponies

--- SPOILERS END ---

Overall, great job on this neat piece of interactive fiction here. I don't read fanfics, but I certainly felt that I read one while playing this game.

10/10, Would recommend to others. Keep up the good work & hope to see more from you guys in the future.

OKay, some issues? It's supposed to save when i find a new pony, but then i had to do something and i closed the game. when i came back it didn't remember any ponies i saved other than Fluttershy, which is a major problem. Also There's no pause button, which is also a problem, cause i don't want to be AFK and have Derpy Die of starvation or hunger or to a hunter. Also i have a very hard time finding any of the ponies cause there's nothing really leading you other then your sence of exploration, the only places i have yet to fully scearch are the caves, which with all the hunters and confusing caves, praticly have "Enter and die" written all over them(basicly makes you realy want to stay away). Even when i have fireflies they don't last long enough for me to get though the cave or ditch me while i'm exploring to suddenly. I may sound like a pansy for saying this but when my fire flies left me i never left that safe area deep in the cave. I closed out before leaving cause i was just to afraid to leave the safty of the light.

Also the secret areas, they're nice and all, but they don't really seem to be at all worth the trouble to get then, considering the rocks and gems seem to have practically no use and the muffins don't seem to do much other then be a food source what you probably waited trying to find it. Also, it doesn't seem that fireflies or food respawns, and concitering how esensial they are, that's a major issue.

it'd say more but midnight Wonko seems to have said pretty much all the other issues that i have. It's a unique idea, but needs more tweeking. And less cave area that makes you feel like you're suddenly in slender or something.

Well, this is a bug. After placing the d3dx10_43.dll and then attempting to run the game I get the error;ERROR: shader loading for:Gpu Programs/basicEffect.fx failed but error string was empty, DX device was probably nullERROR: RefC<struct ID3D10Effect>:perator -> attempting to dereference NULL value in ObjectReferenceC!

My laptop is weird. Dunno if it's to do with my SSD that it was running off of, or something to do with my nVidia GeForce GTI555M.

Hopefully this is known, otherwise, it's still a fun bug to play around with.

Unfortunately I am not able to help so much. I did, however, re-install DX10 as well as place a copy of that file in the directory. It seemed to work for me. Also, I think it only runs on Win 7, if I recall them saying that on their page, maybe Vista too. Make sure you're running one of these two OS's. If you are, head to their website and send a bug report to them, explaining anything and everything you have done to try and play the game, along with the error reports.

thanks for your reply! yeah it seems that the game is made only for Vista or highter OS , but my computer is running on win XP ( its belongs to my compagny, so I don't have the rights to upgrade it ) this means that directX_9c is the latest version I can put ...some people pretending that's possible to put some kind of modified directX10 versions, but this is all fake! I spent hours to try solve this missing ddl file but I unfortunatly can't play this game

I feel this game is suffering from several serious issues with its overall design. The only map given is a basic, rudimentary map that doesn't appear to show everything and doesn't appear to be drawn to scale. This wouldn't be so big of an issue were it not for the fact that it's incredibly difficult to tell one passage apart from another. I'd map it out myself if there were an easy means of doing so (i.e. cleanly-separated rooms), but without such, the task would be a Herculean effort, thus leaving me with no navigational aid.

There are no landmarks or objects anywhere in the world that draw me to investigate further, leaving me with a feeling of complete directionlessness.

Overall, the world is very dark, even when you're above-ground during noontime. Caves are almost always pitch-black, and fireflies leave you suddenly with no warning, sometimes going so far as to strand you in the middle of a dark cavern with no lights in any direction. This, combined with the previously-mentioned lack of navigational aids, dissuades me from exploring dark caverns in a game that seems to have exploration as its core element. Assuming fireflies are supposed to eventually leave you, and as they seem to follow you in groups of four, I might then suggest that they instead leave you one-by-one to give you a sense of your time limit with them; a player that does not believe he will reach a landmark, the outdoors, or another swarm of fireflies in time can then hurriedly double back once half of his fireflies are gone.

I have no idea what angel statues do or if they're good things or bad things.

Food appears to be a critically scarce, non-respawning resource, which discourages me from ever actually restoring a saved game. Campfires even moreso, and I am disinclined to use a resource I have only one of which (to my understanding) only serves to make Derpy happy.

The happiness meter itself is a mystery to me in this game. It clearly decays, albeit at a rate far slower than either hunger or exhaustion. I can therefore only guess that it could be some sort of health meter.

The game, upon starting up, stated I could pick up objects by left-clicking. This does not appear to be the case; rather, it seems that Derpy walking over them causes her to add them to her inventory. Moreover, some of the objects she can gather appear to have no use. I have no idea what, if anything, gems are supposed to do. There are also small, gray objects that I cannot clearly identify. Are they eggs? Are they rocks? There are also objects that appear to be sticks; I would assume that gathering enough creates an additional campfire in Derpy's inventory, but have no feedback on if this is the case or how many sticks are needed. Speaking of which, I never know how many sticks (or any other object) Derpy has, and sometimes not even her supply of food will show up when I right-click. The game also occasionally makes the pick-up sound when Derpy has not walked over any visible objects; it is possible that she actually walked over sticks that blended in so well with the background that I never noticed them and continue not to notice them; if they are important, I would recommend finding a way to make them stand out.

It took me some time to notice that any text appeared at all upon finding a pony. I do not know if this is simply because I did not notice it (it does fade in and out very smoothly and discreetly) or because it glitched and outright didn't even appear. I do realize this is an alpha and that the latter could be the case, though if it's the former, text boxes might help to make text stand out more.

The marker in the center is practically invisible. When I first played the game, I had no idea it even existed, let alone that it could collide with all platforms, walls, and ceilings (a concept which struck me as incredibly counterintuitive, as I was under the impression that I was controlling an intangible camera of sorts). By the time I realized the center of the screen had clipping, I noticed an incidental smudge on my screen about in the same place. As it incidentally served to aid me, I didn't clean it off. It wasn't until a later try of the game that I realized that it actually WASN'T a smudge on my screen. I might suggest a pattern that stands out more, like a small crosshairs or brackets colored to contrast with the background.

I do feel I must commend the opening "cutscene," which first pans over Fluttershy before finally focusing on Derpy; this quickly draws the player to direct Derpy towards Fluttershy. The only thing I might suggest would be to make Derpy wake faster; considering the overall dark visuals of the game and the fact that derpy has a grey coat, she really doesn't stand out much while she sleeps, which can actually cause a player to completely overlook her at first, like what I did.

I like your take on the game. May I present my counterpoints? They address your points by paragraph.*Note: accurate if you're talking about Drifter 0.8*

The main challenge of the game is navigation. It's meant to be difficult and some amount of effort must be invested in memorizing the map. Difficult games are common in retro style games, so I didn't find this issue so much of a burden. The general map isn't meant to be accurate; it's helps the player a bit but the rest is up to you to fill in the blanks.

There are landmarks aplenty: angel statues and distinct background landmarks such as glowy crystals pointing light in a direction.

Did you adjust your monitor brightness? I didn't see a pitch black cave... I'll admit, perhaps the game should have an option where there is a "adjust your brightness/contrast/gamma until the test is barely visible" slider. Fireflies take a while to follow you, and will fade away after a certain amount of time. If they don't then you're basically invulnerable for the rest of the game. You'll need to find new ones.I seriously think that your monitor isn't calibrated. The game isn't *that* pitch black as you've described it.

Angel statues are landmarks.

Yes, food is non-renewable. Unless you restore from a save, they don't respawn. If you're exploring at a good rate and not making circles in the game, you'll progress. Otherwise you'll have a hard time, and I agree that this can be frustrating in the game. However, it is an acceptable frustration.

I, too have no idea how much an impact the happiness bar make in gameplay. I don't think it's a health meter though.

The point-and-click option is only useful in certain instances where an object is out of reach, such as the 2 blue crystals in a room underground. Once you click on an object, it forms a red line (like a string) and you can drag it to Derpy to pick it up. The use of any of the crystals is still a mystery to me as well; I'm hoping that the dev would tell us later or implement it with a more clear function later in future releases. The small objects you talk about are rocks, I think, and are components of a campfire. Yes, I am in agreement with you that there is no feedback on the requirements to make a campfire. Intentional or not, I leave this issue up to the dev team to solve. If they choose to give clear cut instructions on how to make it work, then that is fine and fun. If the y do not, then it could also be fun with players experimenting and discovering on their own on what makes this tick. I know; it is hard to explain, but perhaps the root of this attitude is that most old-school gamers like myself in the past didn't have the Internet where we could look up on GameFAQs the solution to puzzles. We just slogged at it until we figure it out, and it was fun although tiring and requiring more effort. I believe Derpy picks up food in bushes, which isn't readily visible as objects.

I think your monitor isn't adjusted. But then again, it could be a technical graphic card issue. Perhaps send your error logs to the devs? Or, try playing the game on a different computer?

Yeah, I too did not notice the central marker on my first playthrough! Using it to made the game much, much easier to play. And did you know you can actually turn it off in the config.lua by setting the displayDot to false? It'll make the game even harder to play

There are a few technical problems at the moment. The first is that, when in a wide screen resolution, the mouse movement is centered(as in the area where the camera won't move) off to the left, the second is that the bloom can be too intense at times, mostly with campfires.

Also, in my own opinion, I think I'd like to control Derpy instead.

Besides all that, I really like the ambiance of this game, the music fits pretty well and I like the light shaft effect, I've honestly never seen it used in a 2D game before. I stand neutral on the Cave Story textures, they don't really feel either fitting or unfitting.

Please add a button to toggle fullscreen. If there is such a button, then put it in the readme. The game is so much more enjoyable in full screen, but my computer would sometimes force it out of full screen to ask if I want to change my color setting to improve performance, or w/e.

Some of the Angel statues seem to be useless. They are nowhere near the ponies.

Twilight's perk is the only one that had any noticeable impact on game play.

Please add a command to force Derpy to stop and re-direct herself to my screen's position. I sometimes moved the screen to make her go onto a ledge just above her, but to get there, the pathing takes her waaaay out to the left and she doesn't take any new follow commands until she reaches that point. This can be particularly bad if I'm trying to run from a hunter.

It was sheer dumb luck that I found the muffin leading to the ending passage of the game after I found the mane 6. I recommend moving that lead muffin closer to the top of the pillar of platforms it was on, and then add another two to the platforms underneath them so people can follow the breadcrumb trail.